


The South Sea

by thatorangedrank



Category: South Park
Genre: Dubious Consent, Eventual Sex, F/F, F/M, I'll give warnings anyways, I'll give warnings before each chapter when the angry sex happens, I'm just not sure if I should tag it as rape or not because it's not technically rape, M/M, Mermaids, Mermaids have very violent sex, Mildly Dubious Consent, Slow Burn, border line rape?, it's just how mermaids have sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-27 11:02:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10016930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatorangedrank/pseuds/thatorangedrank
Summary: On an isolated island in the South, there is a civilization that lives deep underneath the tide. The mer-people were peaceful to the islanders for many many years. They would fish together, trade together, and even mate together. But after the fish began to diminish, the two sides turned against one another. Now they are in a full out war with who has the right to the sea. The mer-folk who live there? Or the islanders who are too far away from any main land to go anywhere else.Among all the fighting, Stan Marsh, the son of the Master Fish Merchant, and Kyle Broflovski, the son of the Lead Tail find themselves learning more and more about the other side, praying for the war to stop so that they may one day stop meeting in secret and truly be together.





	1. Prologue

The ocean swayed back and forth, balancing the sun on it’s waves. The world above it is well known and explored. However, below its rapid waves, there is a wet world that is much more mysterious than the one we know. It is a fact that two thirds of the ocean have not been explored, so who knows what species dwells in its depths.

One fisherman’s town, on the end of No Where and next to the Drowning Sea, knows exactly what lies beneath, but they don’t have to look far.

“Siren!” A young blond lad called out, leaning over the side of the Seiner. He wasn’t more than 19 but he was tall yet strong, burly but thin, mangy but gorgeous. He kept his green eyes on the beautiful creature, calling out to them. He wasn’t one to be easily swayed by the song but it had happened a few times. 

An older man, nearing his 40’s walked out, patting the boy on the back. “Good job, Kenny, you undoubtedly saved our asses.” The man had black hair and his face was covered in stubble. he fingered his mustache, eyeing the crying Siren. “Stuart?” He called.

Another grown man walked out, sporting calm chestnut hair. “Yeah, Randy?”

“Your son spotted a Siren.”

Stuart went to stand beside him, seeing the mermaid for himself. “Did he now?” Randy hummed, nodding. “Kenny,” Stuart ordered. “Go tell everyone else to keep an eye out on the sea. And to find their partners.”

Kenny nodded, pushing off from the side, and walking to where the others were pulling up the fishnets. “Siren spotted.” He announced. “Find your buddy and stay away from the railings. Keep an eye out for them.” There was a murmured agreement and the men went to their stations. 

As Kenny started moving to his, at the front of the boat, his partner popped up at his side. “Hey!” A young man of the same age greeted. “A Siren’s here? Do you know which one it was?” 

Kenny shook his head, grabbing a harpoon firing, crossbow. “I didn’t get a good look.” He shrugged, his dark brown haired friend deflated. 

“Not even her tail?”

Kenny chuckled. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell  _ you _ .”

“And why not?”

“Clyde, you’re on their list, what with how many times you’ve escaped from drowning.”

Clyde scoffed. “How do we know they really drown people?”

“Because we see the bodies float up and wash ashore?” He hummed. “I mean, just a guess.”

Clyde rolled his brown eyes. “Whatever. Did you get a look at the Siren’s hair, at least?”

Kenny tried to remember. “I… think it was long and blonde.”

The shorter boy perked up. “Do you think it’s her?”

Kenny suddenly started to panic, looking over at Clyde. “Who’s her…?”

“The one with the red tail.” Clyde said excitedly. “Whenever I’m out here, so is she. I even remembered her song. She always-” 

A woman’s moan ripped through the air. “ _ Kenny…! Oh…!” _

Clyde’s eyes widened. “She always moans my name.” A grin spread across his face and he rushed to the railing. “Here! I’m here!” He tried to see into the water.

Randy’s shout bellowed through the sky. “It dived! It dived, everyone away from the railings!!”

Kenny quickly grabbed at Clyde around the waist trying to tug him backwards. “Clyde, snap out of it!” He tried to pull his buff friend away, but he clung to the railing.

“I’m here! You don’t have to look any further!” 

As Kenny continued and tried to pull Clyde back, he saw bright blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes peek out of the water. He groaned and pulled his friend with all his might but he couldn’t get him back. 

The Siren’s coy smile came out next. She opened her mouth and soft clicking and squeaking came out. Clyde nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! It’s me! WIll you take me with you this time?” She smiled wider, a small hand coming up, trying to beckon him closer. Clyde tried to reach a hand down for her’s. 

Kenny finally growled, letting go of Clyde and rushing to grab his harpoon, aiming and shooting. The sharpened blade sliced by her shoulder and caused her to start bleeding. Her sexy gaze snapped from Clyde and she glared daggers at Kenny, the hand she had raised, holding her injury. She opened her mouth wide and began an ear splitting screech. Kenny covered his ears, dropping the gun. Clyde was also snapped out of his trance as he fell backwards and onto the floor holding his ears and yelling in pain. 

She finally stopped and dove back under, Kenny catching a glimpse of her red tail. “Siren at the bow!” He yelled, slightly deaf. He ran back to a bell and began ringing it.

“Kenny!” Clyde yelled.

Said boy turned around and saw that the Siren had reappeared and had flung herself over the side of the boat, grabbing Clyde’s foot and trying to drag him over. She kept screeching, sharp teeth digging into Clyde’s foot as he tried to kick her off. Kenny ran back over, raising the butt of his gun, about to hit her head with it when another shout and bell was heard.

“BOULDER FIRE AT STARBOARD!!!”

Kenny looked over and saw a strong, black merman launch a large boulder onto the ship, almost like a cannon ball. He turned back to hit the Siren but another mer-person launched themselves out of the water, snatching Kenny’s arm and dragging him over the railing. Kenny had dropped his gun and had a grip on the railing, knowing he was about to fall into the water. 

He heard hissing and looked down, seeing that a black haired merman was hanging onto him by the pants. His stoney blue eyes were dilated and his sharp teeth were bared. He let out a yell, almost like a war cry, before digging his teeth into Kenny’s side. Kenny let out a cry of pain and let one arm let go of the railing, trying to beat at the merman’s head. 

Once that didn’t work, Kenny tried to see if he still had his dagger on him. He found he did. He raised it and dug it into the merman’s left shoulder deeply, trying to tear even more flesh. The merman released his teeth, but still had a firm hold on Kenny, growling slightly.

Kenny got a good look a mark on the mer-person’s right pectoral. It seemed to be an injury but the detail was too great. There was a marking of two tridents crossing each other. The skin was red, as if it was branded onto him. 

Before he could examine it more, a harpoon was shot through the merman’s right arm, causing him to lose his grip and fall into the water. Kenny looked up and saw his father, holding his harpoon gun and reaching down to grab his son. 

Kenny was hoisted over onto the side and he immediately fell to the ground clutching his side. Stuart quickly grabbed his son’s hood and dragged him away from the railing, to where Clyde was as well, crying as his wound was cleaned. Stuart knelt down and pulled up Kenny’s shirt and seeing the vicious bite mark which had taken a chunk meat. He yelled over his shoulder. “Randy! We need to go back! There’s too many injured. 

Randy nodded, quickly commanding the ship back, only leaving with half the fish they had set out for.

In the water, the merman’s head popped up, glaring at the boat as it went. The Siren’s popped up as well, immediately going to his side. “Craig…” She said, surprised at the amount of human tools in him. 

He turned to look at her, not saying anything as he gripped the dagger in his shoulder and yanked it out with his harpooned arm. His blood immediately began to leave his body as he tossed the dagger away into the water. He turned to her, lifting a hand to her hurt shoulder. “Are you hurt bad?’ He asked deeply.

She shook her head. “Your arm-”

“It’ll be fine, I’ll have Token break the end off later.” She nodded, still worried. He hummed and brushed her face with his knuckles. “Come, Bebe.” He dove, his long, blue, shark like tail following after him. Bebe watched the boat for a while longer before diving as well, leaving the brown haired idiot out of her mind for another day.


	2. Chapter 1

Though blood was often spilled, the ocean remained blue, the sand remained tan, the seaweed remained green, and the life remained vibrant.

A flash of bright orange and green swam through the seaweed forest. It zoomed past a coral reef and curled up in the over hang.

“Kaaahl!!!” An annoying voice rang out, “Kahl I need your help!”

A softer voice spoke, “Oh gee, Eric, maybe we should just let him go. He’s been awful busy all day…”

“Ugh shut up, Butters. We are supposed to be harvesting kelp until the sun sets, and even though we’re done, we need to stay out there! I don’t know how he expects to be a defender if he doesn’t follow orders.” The voices faded away, moving elsewhere to search for their friend.

A freckled face peered out behind the coral, a scowl on his face. “Idiot.” He swam off again, his green spotted tail blending in with the seaweed. He swam over a school of fish which scattered as he swished through them. His red hair was a floating curly mess and was the only constant visible thing as he zipped in between the plant life. he eventually popped out at the end of it, halting completely and gazing out over the rocky terrain.

He took a deep breath and cautiously swam along the bottom, eyeing the top of the water for boats. The seaweed forest was on a hill that climbed quite a way up near the surface. Normally, the top of the water was about 200 feet above, and now, it was about 50 feet away. Kyle knew that he couldn’t get too close to the surface, his colors were too bright. His vibrant red hair and electric green tail were too recognizable.

So he stayed near the bottom, looking through the crevices for clams that he could take back for food. He swam along the bottom, not looking up for a while. He wasn’t able to find anything. He huffed. The area had been picked clean apparently... He sighed and felt something brush against his dorsal fin, causing him to jolt forward. It was… a dead fish head…?

He saw another dead fish float down and he looked up, horror written on his face. above him, there were dozens of dead fish and blood floating down. He swam out of the way, sticking near the bottom. As he looked around the red cloud drifting to the bottom, he saw that there was a small sail boat above him.   
He bit his lip. He had to do something. If that idiot continued to toss dead fish into the water it could attract sharks. The occasional shark was normal, the defenders would just chase it off. But more than two was a problem. It wasn’t like he could swim up and tell the human to knock it off though…

Wait. That’s exactly what he could do. He knew he wasn’t a siren but he could try the same tactics. He swam a good 20 to 25 feet away before rising to the top. He’d have to be careful. If they started to attack he could lose them in the seaweed forest, given they didn’t follow his hair. He cupped his hair with his hands, peeking above the water. He almost hissed and ducked back under. He didn’t exactly like air. It was cold and dried out his tail.

He saw that the small boat was being operated by one man. It was too bright for Kyle to get a good look, but he noticed a bright red dot on the man. He seemed to step in something and cursed, groaning as he dumped another bucket of dead fish over the side. Kyle’s blood boiled and he couldn’t contain himself. “Hey!” He yelled, releasing his hair, head popping out of the water. Ugh. He /hated/ the air… “Hey, asshole!” The man looked up, wiping his forehead of sweat. “Yeah, you shithead! Stop fucking dumping dead fish into the water!”

The man looked around, backing up a little bit. “Are…” He reached down for something. “Are you trying to seduce me…?” He called.

“Wha-?!” Kyle sputtered. “Fucking- no!”

“Oh,” He said, placing the thing back down again. “‘Cause I think it was working.” Kyle blushed hard. “You’re quite a pretty siren. Your hair is the prettiest I’ve ever seen. Oh. Your song is lovely too.”

“I.” Kyle wasn’t sure what to do… “I’m not a siren, man… I’m a merman.”

“A what?!” He immediately reached down for something and pointed it at Kyle. “Don’t make me use this!” Kyle gasped, about to dive. “Don’t move!” Kyle stayed put. “Look… I don’t want to hurt you… But I will defend myself.”

“I’m not a defender! I wasn’t made for battle,” Kyle said, hoping the man wasn’t as stupid as he seemed. Crap… He couldn’t die today…

“Is there a difference?” The man asked.   
“Definitely.” Kyle nodded. “I’m not strong, I can hardly lift a bowl of clams, let alone drown anyone.”

The man wavered. “Look… I really really don’t want to hurt you…”

Kyle tilted his head. “And why not? You have the upper hand and you’re a human. Isn’t it your job to kill me?” What was this redhead doing?! Yes, he was curious but he definitely could have worded that better.

The man sighed. “I… I don’t like hurting mer-people… but I will if I have to… I think that us fighting is wrong and I don’t agree with it.”

“Then why are you trying to lure sharks?” Kyle asked.

“Huh? Lure sharks?” He let his gun drop slightly, not pointing at him anymore.

“Isn’t that why you were dumping dead fish…?” Kyle asked.

“No!” The man said, completely lowering his gun. “No, I was trying to help feed mer-people.”

Now that the gun was pointed elsewhere, Kyle felt safe. He raised his hands to his crazy hair and groaned, “We don’t eat dead fish, jackass.”

The man tilted his head. “You don’t?”

“No, they make us sick if they’ve been dead for even a day, not to mention the blood attracts sharks and by the look of those fish, they’re a couple days old.”

The man looked horrified. “I.. I didn’t know, I’m sorry… I was just trying to help. I thought, what with how much fish we take from you that-”

“Look, at this point you’d be doing us a favor by eating them,” Kyle snapped.

The man nodded, placing his hands on the railing. “Um… What’s your name…?”

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “What’s your name?” He demanded.

“Stan,” He said immediately, “Stan Marsh.”  
The merman just stared at him suspiciously. “Kyle.”

“Kyle,” Stan said with a small smile. “Kyle, will you come closer so I don’t lose my voice from yelling?”

Kyle swam back an extra few feet, looking offended. “No!”

Stan’s smile fell. “Why…?”

“It could be a trap!”

Stan sighed. “Look, I just want to get to know you better. Obviously I’ve had some misinformation about mer-people. In my town there’s a rumor that they’ll eat anything and anyone, what with how hungry you all are. That’s why you try and bite people. To get some extra meat in your system.”

Kyle glared hard. “And you believe that?! We aren’t wild animals! Unlike you!”

Stan looked offended. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“How you’ve killed such strange, large fish and use them as transportation! Why don’t you let the boats and ships be at rest!”

Stan stared at him with a confused look on his face. “Wait.” He motioned to the boat. “You think this was a fish we killed?” Kyle nodded. “No no! We build these. These aren’t living things. It’s… technology.”

“Tech… nology?” Kyle sounded out the word.

Stan nodded. “That’s right. do you not have technology in the ocean?” Kyle shook his head. “How interesting…” He said with a smile. “Kyle, I’d really like to learn about your culture more… Will you teach me?”

Kyle stared at him before snorting and beginning to laugh. “Are you crazy?”

“What?” Stan asked.

“I’m not just, giving away my culture to you! You could use it against us!”

“Look, I’ll even give out the same information I ask.” Stan begged, “Please. I don’t want to be like the same unintelligent people that live in my town. I’m different from them. Please…”

Kyle sighed, seeing he was genuinely interested. “Fine… What do you want to know?”

“Um… What do you live in?” Stan asked excitedly.

“Oh- are you kidding me?!” Kyle yelled, “That’s literally some of the most delicate information I could give out and you ask that first?”

Stan put his hands up in defence. “Hey, I asked what not where. Like, humans live in houses.” When Kyle tilted his head Stan added. “They’re shelters built by wood. Our homes.”

Kyle sighed, “Fine. Merpeople live in in caves.”

Stan smiled. “Interesting… What kind of currency do you use?”

Kyle tilted his head. “Currency? What’s currency?”

  
“An item exchanged for goods and services.” He explained, but Kyle just shrugged. “Do you not have something like that?”

“I.. I don’t know… Can you explain it more?”

“Well. Let’s say you want some fish,” Stan began to explain. “You would trade an object for it. Human currency is money. If we want food or if we want someone to fix something, then we give them money which they can also use for the same purpose.”

“So…” Kyle scratched his head. “So you’re just constantly trading if you want something…?”

Stan nodded. “Exactly. And you can earn money by developing a skill. Most people fish and then sell that fish to people who are hungry. However you can earn it in many other ways. Building things, fixing things, healing people, and just about anything else you can think of.”

Kyle hummed, “What happens when humans don’t have any mon- money?” He tried to pronounce it correctly.

“Well… Then you aren’t able to buy anything,” Stan explained.

Kyle’s eyes widened. “So if they don’t have money then they can’t eat?”

Stan was surprised by the redhead’s bewilderment. “Well-”

“And if they are dying and don’t have money they can’t get healed!? That’s insane!”

“Well, medicine costs money, and if the doctor can’t buy the medicine then they can’t heal anybody. So they have to charge for their services to buy more medicine to treat more people”

Kyle frowned. “Health care should be free! If a person isn’t well enough to earn the money in the first place then they aren’t even able to pay for it!”

Stan hummed in thought. He’d never thought about it that way… “Well, how do your people get food and treatment?”

Kyle tilted his chin up. “Each mer-person is given a specific task based on what skill they excel at. Some heal, some hunt, some defend, and some gather. Most of my people garden and gather food such as kelp and clams; that’s what I do. At the end of the day all the food is tallied up and divided equally among all the civilians using a delicate formula so each person is given the precise amount they need to stay healthy.”

Stan was impressed. “Wow… But what about those who need to be healed when they become unhealthy? Does it cost anything?”

Kyle shook his head. “Like I said, we all have our specific jobs. So when one of us is even slightly unhealthy, our healers try and make them better as fast as they can for free. If all of our people are healthy, then as a civilization, we are stronger.”

Stan smiled big. That sounded like a society he’d like to live in… “So-”

A bell was sounded from the town and Stan looked back to look at the sun. “What is that?” Kyle asked urgently, getting worried.

“Oh, that’s just the call for sailors to come back.” He explained. “We aren’t allowed out on the ocean at night.”

Kyle looked back to look at the setting red sun. “I need to return as well… We all must attend the serving otherwise the formula won’t be accurate.”

Stan hummed. “Kyle. I really want to hear more about your culture… Will you come back tomorrow at the same time?” He asked.

Kyle sighed, “I don’t know if I’ll be finished with my task tomorrow, it was just luck that I got done early today… I don’t even know if I actually want to.”

Stan looked at him with a pout. “Please? Even if you don’t return tomorrow, I’ll be here at the same time every day.”

Kyle bit his lip. He shouldn’t… But this human had just proved how much he didn’t know about humans... And it intrigued him. “I’ll… I’ll try…”

Stan smiled brightly. “Thank you, Kyle. I’ll see you tomorrow”

Kye nodded. “Yeah… Yeah, okay…” He nodded, waving slightly before diving, his green tail splashing.

-

By the time Kyle returned to the caves, it was already dark, but the Serving hadn’t started yet so he was in luck. He looked around at the gathering merpeople. He felt off balance. Like he’d just betrayed all his friends because he’s just spoken to a human and no one knew…

  
“Kyle!” Said merman turned and saw his blond friend swimming towards him. Kyle was small, but he wasn't the smallest. “Kyle where were you?” Butters asked.

Kyle shrugged, trying to remain calm. “Seaweed Forest. I needed to get away from Cartman.”

“Then you didn’t hear?” His small friend asked with wide brown eyes.

Kyle raised an eyebrow, concern growing on his freckled face. “Hear what…?”

“There was an attack today,” Butters said. “Craig led it with Bebe, Token, and a few others.”

Kyle’s eyes widened. “Is everybody okay?”

Butters nodded. “Yeah, but Bebe’s shoulder got sliced and both of Craig’s arms are injured. He was stabbed on his shoulder and then a harpoon went right through his other arm. They managed to break the end off the harpoon and they should be getting it out now.” Butters bit his lip and blushed. “Craig is so brave…”

Kyle hummed and looked forward. “Do we know how long he’s going to be out of action? He’s one of our best defenders.”

“Knowing him, not very long,” A female voice behind him sounded.

Kyle turned. “Bebe!” She had seaweed over her shoulder, covering a wound. Kyle swam in front of her. “Are you okay?”

  
“Oh I’m fine, but Craig might be out for two days.. maybe three.” She sighed, blue eyes giving off her worry.

Kyle smiled softly. “He’ll be back up in one. You know how stubborn he is. I mean he’s with you after all.”

She laughed softly, her crazy blonde hair splaying out around her. “You’re right. I just worry when he comes home with random injuries sometimes, you know?”

Butters nodded. “It's natural to care about the ones you love.” Kyle hummed in agreement.

Bebe smiled softly. “Well, I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving.” She huffed, getting in line for food. Kyle followed her, wondering if it was truly strange to Stan that this was how Kyle’s culture was...


	3. Chapter 2

Stan tied his sail boat up skillfully in the marina, only having the fading sun’s light to help him. He sighed, looking out towards the sea. Kyle was different from most merpeople Stan encountered. All of the merpeople he’d met had at least tried to harm him, even the few mermaids who had said if he wasn’t a human they'd be attacking his body like a shark attacks a baby dolphin. He… didn’t know if that was a compliment…? Maybe it was truly because Kyle wasn’t a fighter or warrior or whatever. But why didn’t he swim away? Why did he offer up so much information? He certainly had Stan seeing in a different light.

He shrugged it off as he walked into his house, almost immediately getting run over by his pregnant older sister, Shelly. “Ugh, Stan, stay out of the way!” She hurried into the next room, a healing kit in her hands.

Stan followed after her where he saw his father drinking a shot of vodka as his mother attempted to remove something from his leg. “Dad…? Wh-what the hell happened?” He hovered by the wall, making sure he stayed out of the way.

Randy looked up, on the edge between buzzed and drunk. “I’ll tell you what fuckin’ happened.” He motioned to his leg, a deep bite mark apparent. “Those damned mer-devils attacked our seiner while we were fishin’. Barely got half of our quota. I don’t know how we’re supposed to feed the town if those- FUCK!”  He braced the arms of his chair as his mother poured alcohol on the wound. “ _Jesus_ , Sharon!”

His mother tsked and rolled her eyes. “It's a lot deeper than I thought, Randy.” He groaned and just took a swig from the bottle. Shelly sat next to her, helping her part the flesh as she dug thin tongs into his leg. Stan covered his mouth, turning to face the wall and place his head on it as he attempted to keep his lunch down. He heard the squelching of blood and his father’s yell. “Almost got it…” Sharon murmured, and with a hard tug she yanked a mer tooth, resembling a shark’s out of the flesh. He yelped again but more out of relief as Shelly instantly began to wrap the leg.

Sharon placed the spiked tooth on a plate as she stood, walking past Stan with bloody hands. “You can look now, sweetie.” She walked into the kitchen.

Stan looked over his shoulder at his sister and father who had passed out from pain and alcohol. He shrugged, following his mom, watching her place the plate with the tooth down and start to wash her hands. “How long will it be before dad can walk again?”

She hummed in thought. “Two… Four days?”

Stan sighed, leaning against the counter and examining the tooth. It resembled a shark’s tooth but it was much smaller. And given closer inspection, Stan could see small protruding hooks along the sides of it, like thorns on a rose. He looked back up at his mother. “Who’s going to lead the fishing expeditions until then? Uncle Jimbo?”

She nodded, humming. “Yes, but it was a big attack today, honey. More than your father got hurt.”

Stan’s eyes widened. “What? Who?”

She turned off the water and dried her hands with a towel. “Your friends, Kenny and Clyde.”

“Wh-? Is Kenny okay!?”

She smiled softly and nodded. “Yes, they’re alright. Though Kenny was the worst hurt out of all of them.” His mother was the doctor for the town, not charging a lot but that was only because she didn’t have much to work with. Only kitchen tools and pain relievers. “However…. that’s three from the crew that’ll be out for a couple days which means…”

She gave him a knowing look and he groaned, leaning against the wall as if he’d been shot. “Aw, mom…!”

She raised her hands. “I’m sorry, Stan, but we need your help with the business. You’re a good fisherman.”

“But why can’t I just stay in the shop and sell them?” He whined.

“Because we’re taking that Tweak boy out too _and_ your sister’s husband Larry. Shelly and I will be left to run the shop by ourselves and that’s just assuming nobody comes flocking to me for medical attention.”

Stan straightened up, pointing for emphasis. “All the more reason for me to stay at the shop.”

Sharon raised an eyebrow. “You hate working in the shop.”

He stomped his foot slightly. “Yeah but I hate sailing with other people more!”

She pursed her lips and folded her arms. “Speaking of… Where were you today?”

Stan froze. “Um… I was… In town…”

She raised an eyebrow. “And you reek of the sea because?”

He gulped. “We live in a fishing town?”

“And where was your sailboat today? I noticed it was gone.”

He sighed. “The sailing alone helps me relax, mom, I-”

“Stanley!” She hissed, getting close to him and looking up at him. “You _cannot_ go out there without another person!” She whispered aggressively. “Your father, _and the entire town_ has forbidden it! What if you had been attacked by more of those horrible sea people, Stan, what then?”

He tried to back up but his back was already touching the wall. He was a good few inches taller than her, but his mother never failed to terrify him.”W-well I didn't…! It won’t happen again. Next time I’ll take someone with me, I swear.” He bit his lip. “I was just having a panic attack and I tried just going down to the beach-”

“Which is also against the rules.” She said sternly.

“- but that didn’t help either!” He continued, even though she’d interrupted him.

She sighed. “Fine. As long is it doesn’t happen again. _Always_ take someone with you.”

“I will…” He nodded. “I’m sorry..”

She nodded. “I forgive you. Now. How did your meeting with Wendy and her parents go?”

Stan hissed through his teeth, screwing his eyes shut tight. “That…. _Was_ today… wasn’t it…?”

Sharon widened her eyes, gaining an angry expression on her face as it became progressively red. “Damn it, Stan!” She yelled, smacking the counter with her hand.

“I-I’m sorry, mom! I was freaking out and-!”

“You had one task today! One!” She tried to make herself as tall as possible as her six foot three son tried to melt into the wall. “Stan, what part of “the key to our family’s future” do you not seem to grasp! You are 19 and we have never asked too much of you! When you didn’t want to be a permanent member of your father’s crew we said “fine, sweetie”! When you didn’t want to work in the shop, because you kept growing and knocking into things we said “whatever makes you happy”! I will /not/ let you skip out on this one, Stan!”

“I’m not trying to skip out on this one, mom!” He tried to defend himself. “I just forgot, I swear I'll swing by their place tomorrow and apologize! Besides, it’s _scary_! I-I’m only 19 I’m not ready-!”

“Your sister was 18 when she got married and-! You know what? I’m not interested in this conversation. You can go up to your room without dinner.” She pointed to the stairs and started walking back into the living room as she took out antibacterial medicine.

Stan bit his lip in anger and leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling.

“When will he learn to grow up and take responsibility as a family member serious, Shelly?”

He grit his teeth and pushed against the wall, grabbing two beers and sulking off to his room to loathe in self pity.

-

The next morning, Stan slipped out of the house in the early morning before his parents woke up. His mother slept on the couch next to his father, whose leg was put up. His sister had gone home later in the night but his mother had stayed up, checking almost hourly on her husband. Stan had seen her shivering and placed a heavy blanket over her before grabbing a piece of fruit and walking out.

He walked for about ten minutes before he came up on Kenny’s house, walking around the back and peering through the window at a sleeping Kenny. Stan took the last bit of his apple and tossing the core over his shoulder before tapping roughly on the window.

Kenny shot up, wincing hard and holding his side before laying back down. He looked up at Stan and flipped him off. Stan just grinned and waved with his fingers. Kenny slowly sat up and opened the window. “What, Marsh?” He asked tiredly and gruffly.

Stan leaned over, resting his elbows on the window pane. “Heard you got hurt.”

Kenny narrowed his eyes. “What?” He asked sarcastically. “Me? Nooooo!”

Stan rolled his eyes. “Dude, seriously though… You alright?”

Kenny sighed, motioning to his covered side. “I got a big chunk taken out of my side.”

“Lemme see.”

“No way, dude, you’ll blow chunks.”

“I watched my mom rip a tooth out of my dad’s leg last night, I think I can handle it.”

“She had to rip, like, three out of me.”

“Jesus.”

“Fucker got me good.”

“When do you think you’ll be up and at it?”

“Week probably, that’s what your mom said at least.” Stan groaned. “Why, what’s goin’ on?”

“Gotta work on my dad’s crew with Jimbo, Larry, and _Tweek_ of all people.”

“Gross, the twitchy kid?”

“Yeah.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek. “I missed a meeting with Wendy yesterday…”

Kenny widened his eyes. “Dude-!”

“I know I know!” He shoved his hands in his pockets, digging the toe of his boot into the dirt. “I got my ear chewed off about it last night from my mom, so I _know_.”

Kenny bit his lip. “When are you going over to apologize?”

He shrugged. “Afternoon maybe? I dunno.”

Kenny hummed. “Well I get to sit in bed all day so maybe you can do me a favor and go clean the docks for me? It’s supposed to be my turn but…”

Stan nodded. “Yeah, but you gotta return the favor for me when you’re better.”

“Sure.” Kenny hummed and poked his side. “I should change this bandage.”

“Need help?” Stan asked.

The blond boy shook his head and eased himself out of bed. “No I got it.” He winced. “Dude, I’ll tell you one thing though.” He looked up with a serious look on his face. “I’m gonna get that son of a bitch back. Even if it means losing a few more parts of me to get a hefty chunk out of him too.”


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> okay y'all. This has brief mermaid sex. Mermaid sex is very dubious consent, and it's mentioned a lot in the tags.This sort of stuff can be extremely triggering. Even I don't really like it, but in my mind this is just how it happens. There will be a brief warning before it happens and a signal to let you know when it's over so you can continue reading. I don't want to send anyone into a panic attack so I will ALWAYS warn at the beginnings of chapters <3

Bebe was the next in line for food, Kyle behind her. “Hello, Gerald,” she greeted with a smile. “I’m picking up Craig’s too.”

“Oh, yeah?” He grinned, handing her two bowls of fish, kelp, and clams. “I heard he was hurt pretty bad. How long do you think he’ll be laid up for?”

She picked them up. “He’s supposed to heal for three days be in all honesty, he’ll only tolerate one,” she giggled.

He laughed, “Well, good luck keeping him down.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and swam off to her and Craig’s shared cave. It was mildly dark, minus a few small glowing jelly fish that lived throughout the cave system. There wasn’t much to it, just one room with a specific area carved out in the floor that served as a bed for them. It was more of a nest, seaweed and other soft things lining it. Craig was currently laying in it, arms folded, and long tail curving up and going over the side of the bowl as it always did. “Craig.” She smiled as she swam in, placing the bowls of food on the floor. “Dinner.” 

He humphed and started getting up. “I’m starving.”

“Oh don’t get up!” She smiled picking his up and bringing it to him. “Your mother said you shouldn't do a lot of moving for three days.” She handed them the food as he scowled up at her. “I know… Three days is a lot… But you heal fast and you’ll be as good as new in no time!” She smiled, going back to get her’s. “And then we can go back out to the-” She turned and found that he was gone. She blinked a couple times before slowly backing against the wall. She kept her breathing steady and her movements minimal. She looked around the room for him but didn’t see him. It was one thing she hated about the caves. Craig could disappear too easily.

 

[ **_WARNING_ ** ]

 

After a few moments, though it felt like an hour, Craig launched himself at Bebe from out of the darkness. He tried to pin her to the wall but she smacked him in the face with her bowl, quickly swimming under his arm. He followed after her with a growl, sharp teeth bared and eyes dilated. 

Faster than her, he grabbed her arm and swung her into the wall. She gasped and ducked as he lunged for her again. She bared her sharp teeth and bit his forearm quickly, causing him to shout in anger and pain. He grabbed her head and took her to the floor, pressing her face hard against the rocky cavern and dragging it, making her face scrape against it. 

She whimpered and grabbed his arm with her hands, doing a barrel roll to get him off of her. She tried to swim for the entrance but he managed to grab her hair, yanking her back. He grabbed her arms, her back to him and slammed her into the nearest wall. She yelped in pain as he made her hit the wall three more times before pinning her to it. 

He pressed himself against her back, his entire body flush against her’s. He growled into her ear, grazing his teeth against it. “ _ Mine _ .” He said deeply, his voice very gravely. She tried to struggle free again but he just hissed in her ear, gripping her arms harder, causing bruises. “ _ Mine. _ ” He repeated before biting into her shoulder hard and ripping the skin.

She let out a blood curtling scream. Well, blood curtling to humans anyways. For mer-folk, it was just a normal night.

Her scream died down to yelps and whimpers, and eventually hums and moans. Her eyelids drooped as she relaxed into him, his teeth still embedded in her shoulder. “C-Craig…” She moaned, melting in his hands.

He held her tight, starting to lead her backwards until they hovered over their nest. He carefully removed his teeth, causing another moan to leave her. His sharp teeth retracted as he slowly turned her to face him. Her head lolled to the side, biting her lip at the intense way he looked down at her. 

He got close to her face, not being threatening anymore, just sending a safe and comfortable vibe her way. “ _ Mine. _ ” He whispered before kissing her. She moaned loudly and kissed him back as he let them float down to the nest. Her back hit the ground and he released her arms, hands going to her waist. Her hands lifted and dug into his hair, trying to pull him down for more. He hummed and bit her lip, pulling it and making her moan out. 

He moved and started kissing her neck, and digging his fingernails into her sides. “Oh, Craig…!” She groaned. He nipped her neck hard, causing her to squeal.

“I’m going to make you bleed.” He growled, biting her collarbone and then licking it.

“Please…” She whimpered. 

 

[ **_BACK TO NORMAL_** __]

 

After half the night was over, and Bebe was littered in bruises, cuts, and bites, Craig curled around her. He sported a gnarly bite mark on his side. Bebe moaned slightly from soreness. Craig kissed her shoulder, moving her hair out of the way. He traced an identical branding on her left shoulder blade that was on his right pectoral. It was of two tridents crossing each other. It was the emblem their race had possessed since any of them could remember. Only defenders had them, as a mark of strength and bravery.

“Hey…” He mumbled against her skin, his hand delicately grazing her tail. 

“Hm…?” She asked sleepily, a small smile on her face.

“I love you.” He murmured, continuing to kiss her shoulder.

Her small smile grew as she turned to face him. “Awww… Craig…” She nuzzled into his neck and dozed off. “I love you too…”

-

The next morning, Bebe was examined, as usual, by Craig’s mother, Laura. She took note of how slow she was moving and the amount of bruises on her. “He got you pretty well last night, huh?”

Bebe nodded. “I think the news that he had to relax for so long caused his sudden need.”

Laura laughed softly. “Well, all I can say is, what with how brutal he can be, you’re lucky it doesn’t happen all that often.” She rubbed some kind of medicine on the cuts. “I’m givin you a day of rest. You don’t have to lay in bed with Craig, but you can’t strain yourself too hard today.”

Bebe smiled. “Of course, Laura.”

Laura smiled back and sat down. “So when am I going to have little guppies visiting me…?” 

Bebe laughed and sat next to her mate’s mother. “Craig still wants to wait… He says he doesn't want us to stay home too much now, what with how brutal the fighting is becoming. But frankly… I think he’s scared too. Like he doesn’t want to mess up with our kids or be too mean.” 

Laura smiled, hugging her. “Anytime now… just remind him.”

Bebe giggled and hugged her back. “Thank you… I think I’ll go for a swim now.” She said as she pulled away. 

Laura nodded. “Not too fast now.” She reminded her as Bebe swam towards the door and left.

Bebe swam out of the caves looking up and seeing the sun shimmer from the surface of the water. The beams of light illuminated the bottom, giving the plant life more movement and character. 

As she swam further, small, scum feeding fish trailed after her, cleaning her skin and scales. It tickled, their tiny teeth, as they cleaned her. She looked up, not seeing any boats or other merfolk around. She took a deep breath swimming fast toward the surface. The tiny fish were unable to keep up with her fast speed. Smiling bright as she shot out of the water, flying through the air for what felt like an eternity before diving back into the water. 

She was told to take it easy but she couldn’t help it, she loved going fast. she zipped down through the water before shooting up and breaching once more. She gazed at the blue sky above her, wishing she could explore it. The cold splash of water brought her senses back and she came to a halt.  In the distance she saw the wall of earth that led to an overhang. She swam a little deeper as she got closer, knowing that she wasn’t allowed very close to shore. 

Suddenly, something big and heavy fell into the ocean. Bebe squinted, seeing something purple and black and very much alive. Bebe hesitated. She didn’t want the creature to  _ die _ … But what if it was a human… Then she should just let it die… It was trashing, sinking deeper. It obviously didn’t know how to swim. Bebe got closer, seeing it’s movements starting to ease up. It was blacking out. She recognized it from the numerous people  _ she _ drowned. 

She got even closer, seeing it was a human, but a pathetically small one at that. It stopped moving, but bubbles still left its mouth, proving it was still alive. Bebe wasn’t able to stop herself. She swam quickly towards it, grabbing it and taking it to the surface. She swam quickly to the nearest beach, not seeing anyone on it. She bit her lip, crawling onto the sand with the small human. 

The air  _ hurt _ … It made her wounds feel even worse and she got shivering cold within seconds. She was used to it, what with singing to fisherman all the time, but she was always mostly in the water. Her tail is what ached the most, normally so slimy and perfectly wet, it was beginning to dry out. 

She lay the human on the rocks and hit at it’s chest. She had seen other humans doing this to the fool with the dopy smile she always tried to drown. The human gasped, eyes opening wide, and coughing up water. Bebe backed off, immediately trying to get to the water before it got her. She winced, her shuffling causing some sand to enter her gills. She needed to get back in the water. 

"W-wait!" It called out, it's voice raspy. Bebe looked over her shoulder to see it's black hair was shaping it's face. Bebe hissed, trying to get back to the water. "Hey, I said wait!" It reached out and grazed Bebe's tail. 

The blonde mermaid panicked, a hand reaching back and gripping the human's wrist tightly. She glared daggers into it. "Don't." She said, teeth beginning to bare. 

The human's eyes widened. "I... I'm sorry... I want to thank you..."

"Then get me back into the water." She snarled, her gills on her tail starting to heave. "Now."

The human nodded, wobbly standing and walking to the front of Bebe. "Oh! Y-your breasts are exposed..." They flushed brightly. 

"/Get me in the ocean/!" She reached a hand up, the human nodding quickly and taking it, trying to drag her. Bebe winced as more sand got in her gills. 

The human noticed there was a problem. "Um... Roll over on your back...."

Bebe glared up at them. "What."

"I'll use leverage and lift you into the water without touching your tail."

Bebe sighed, deciding quickly and nodding. "I don't know what leverage means but okay. Just get me there."

 

Bebe rolled over, careful of her dorsal fin as the human grabbed under her arms and lifted her, dragging her more effectively to the water. Once Bebe was deep enough, she shrugged away from the human, laying on her side to wash the sand out. 

The human trudged back to the beach clumsily and sat on the edge of the water. They pulled their knees up to their chest and started shivering. "M-my name is Wendy..."

"Don't care," Bebe answered honestly.

"Then... Why did you save me...?" The Wendy asked sheepishly.

"You aren't like any humans I've ever met." Bebe turned to her other side, starting to wash out her gills. "Most of them are big and resemble the Boulder Breachers. You're tiny and weak, but you have more protective padding." She motioned to their chest. "Why aren't you defending the others with them?"

The Wendy flushed again. "M-my /breasts/...?"

Bebe narrowed her eyes. "You said that earlier. What is breasts?"

"Well." They sat up straight, motioning to Bebe's chest. "Those are breasts. The use of "breasts" is plural. Every woman has two breasts. And one breast on each part of her body."

Bebe's eyebrows knitted together. "I don't understand."

"It's... I have breasts because I'm a woman. So do you. The men on the boats don't have them because they're /men/. They have different body types than us." Wendy tried to explain. "It's just the way it is."

"It's stupid. You're more powerful yet you stay behind?" Bebe questioned.

"More powerful? Goodness no!" Wendy exclaimed. "Women aren't nearly as strong as men! They protect us!"

The blonde mermaid snorted. "So you humans are even weaker than we predicted." She turned, starting to wade back into deeper water. 

"Wait...! Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Will I see you again...?"

Bebe turned to look at Wendy's disappointed expression. "Not unless you don't try to drown yourself again."

Wendy bit her lip. "So... You'll save me.... A-again..." Bebe just frowned at her. "I'm going to be here tomorrow." Wendy decided.

Bebe's eyes narrowed. "You're going to jump into the water and let yourself drown?  _ Again?" _ She nodded. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. And I've had conversations with dumb sailors."

"But you'll save me again."

"Wha-?!  _ No _ ! I  _ won't  _ save you again!" She insisted. "You're an idiot. I'm going home." She turned, continuing into the water.

"Then why did you save me the first time?" She called just before Bebe went under.

-

Bebe entered her and Craig's cave with their dinner from The Serving. He was still in their nest but he was shifting uncomfortably. He was almost in the same position he was when she arrived the previous night. Tail spilling over the nest, arms crossed, scowl apparent. She smiled softly and swam to him, hovering over him as she kissed his head and handed him his food. “One more day in bed.” She promised, sliding in next to him and starting to eat.

He hummed and proceeded to eat as well, peeling the fins off the small fish and barring his shark-like teeth, biting into it and chewing. “How are you feeling?” He asked through a full mouth. 

Bebe did the same process but had the manners to swallow before answering. “Sore. But I’ll be back to fishing tomorrow.” 

“Good.” He nodded curtly, having finished his fish quickly and grabbing another, peeling it.

“You’re pretty hungry tonight.” She commented.

“Long night.” He murmured.

She smiled, pleased. He wasn't one to show affection, let alone bring up any previous couplings. “So… I talked with your mother today…” He hummed for her to continue. “She was asking about you-know-what again.” He didn’t give any indication that he heard. “And I was starting to wonder myself,” she prodded. No reaction. “I mean, we’ve been together since a bit after we got our brands. I’ve been hope-”

“The sea is too dangerous to bring more life into it.” He cut her off harshly. She stayed silent, noticing how his tail tip twitched. He was nervous. “What’s the point of bringing something into the world to die?”

“Well… we  _ all _ die sometime…” She offered quietly.

“The humans would kill the thing before it even got a chance to live life.” He said bitterly, tail slapping down. 

She sighed, finishing her meal. “It was only a suggestion…” She took their empty bowls and placed them outside the entrance of their cave. “And all humans can’t be that bad…” She said sullenly, remembering Wendy.

His head snapped to her. “Are you completely stupid? All humans are vicious beasts that have no respect for other living creatures around them.”

She rolled her eyes, used to his hate speeches. “But let’s say that one is nice?”

“No, Bebe! No human is fucking  _ nice _ ! No human would ever waste their time with the likes of you!” Bebe raised an eyebrow. “A mermaid!” He added, after receiving the look. “You know what a mean!”

“Oh yeah, and I’m sure that you know what I mean when I say you’re a fucking asshole.” She shot back, turning her back on him, arms folded.

He sighed. “You know I didn’t mean it like that… Come here?” He asked even though his natural tone made it sound more like an order. And so she obeyed, sitting next to him and looking away, arms still folded. “I just get worried when you talk like that.” He confessed, voice still hard as stone. “A human would never hesitate to kill you.. so you should never hesitate to kill a human. It’s for your safety.” 

She turned to look at him. He blinked once and leaned in, kissing her. She was shocked. He never kissed her first unless they were heated. He must have felt very anxious about the whole conversation. 

She gazed at his large hands as his arms were wrapped around her, his gills heaving slowly as he slept.

If humans never hesitated… Then why had Wendy done more than that…?


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!

Wendy watched Bebe disappear into the water, still awestruck by the encounter. A mermaid… She just got saved by an actual fucking mermaid…. A moment ago she’d just been standing on the lighthouse cliff and then she just fell. A cold gust of wind brought the ravenette back to her senses, her wet body shaking furiously. 

She wrapped her clothes around herself tighter and started walking back towards her family’s large farm house. While they lived in a fishing town, the Testaburger family line had always been farmers. They’d always bred strapping young boys to work the fields and bring in the profit, as a result of that, they lived in a large home with two barns and 8 fields.

Here comes the kicker. The family was nearly bankrupt. Her father was the only son, and the only child, her grandparents had. With the majority of their profit going to buy more feed for the animals and seeds for the fields, and hardly anyone to manage the crops, they were hanging on by the skin of their teeth. They’d managed to hire a few people but the pay was meager and so many of their farm hands quit to take up fishing jobs.

Wendy stepped up the stairs to their farm house and opened the door, seeing her mother, father, and Stan Mar- Oh fuck. She’d totally forgotten about their lunch yesterday. She was supposed to marry the head fisherman’s son to help each of them out of near poverty.

“Wendy!” Her mother exclaimed, rushing towards her. “You’re soaking wet!” She turned to her father. “Get a blanket or-!”

“Allow me.” Stan stepped up, taking his giant, thick coat and wrapping it around Wendy’s tiny form. She almost melted from how warm it was, and his skin basically radiated heat as he was left in a skin tight white t-shirt. 

“Oh, thank you, Stan…!” Her mother sighed. “Wendy. Thank him.

Said girl, looked up at him sheepishly. “Thanks…” So strange that she should feel bashful of a friend she had grown up with.

“Darling, go get Wendy dried and changed.” Her father, a gentle man of few words, spoke. “Stan, you can come with me to the dining hall, we’ll get you a drink.”

“Oh…” Stan stuttered. “Th-that’s really-”

“Go on.” Her mother pushed him towards her father, dragging Wendy, who shot Stan an apologetic glance, upstairs. She was forced into her room and was stripped quickly. “I can’t believe your state… You could get hypothermia! And then where would we be?? Leaving our home because our daughter died and we weren’t able to complete the merger.”

“You mean the marriage?” Wendy asked as her mother forced a warm dress onto her. 

Her mother shot her a glare as she pulled out The Hairbrush. “Merger.” She repeated before ripping The Hairbrush through her daughter’s tortured locks. Wendy groaned in pain and bit her lip as her mother pulled her hair into an extremely tight ponytail. 

“There.” She finished. “And you had better apologize for skipping out on that lunch. It makes it look like we don’t want this to happen!”

Wendy stood and glared at her mother. “I do! I just don’t want to seem like some...some business pawn!”

Her mother glared at her. “Do not take that tone with me. You brought this on yourself!” She snatched up Stan’s coat and handed it to her daughter. “You are going to apologize and have a nice lunch with Stan! Now go!” She pointed to the door.

Wendy stormed out with a groan, going down the stairs quickly and pausing right before entering the dining room. She took a deep breath and took a step in, seeing her father and Stan in deep conversation, their silhouettes accented against the glass wall, the afternoon’s sun pouring in and warming the room. “And you’re sure it won’t be an issue…? Because we’re still very interested in this deal.”

Stan nodded. “So are my parents. I promise it’s not a big deal, it’s just a lunch.”

Her father sighed out a relieved smile. “That’s good to hear…” Wendy cleared her throat and they looked up. “Oh good.” He stood. “I’ll leave you two to it.” He offered his seat to Wendy at the head of the long, 14-person table. 

She sat looking up at him as he scooted her in a little. “Thank you, dad…”

“Do you want some tea?” He asked, motioning to the teapot and upside-down cup. 

She nodded and as he began to reach for it, Stan stood. “Uh- I’ll get it.” He offered, snatching the kettle and turning the cup over. He nodded to Stan and Wendy, leaving the room. Stan poured her a cup silently and placed it in front of her. “Here…” He murmured, sitting back down.

“Thank you…” She mumbled, picking it up and taking a sip, sighing in relief. She smiled softly at him. “Warm…”

He breathed out a small chuckle. “Yeah…” They sat in awkward silence for a couple moments before he sat up straight, frightening her with sudden movements. “Oh! I uh-! I got you something…” He reached for his coat pocket and realised he wasn't wearing it. “Oh. Um. It’s… it's in my jacket…” He motioned to the coat in her lap.

“Oh!” It was Wendy’s turn to sit up straight, putting her cup down on the table. “S-sorry I forgot-!” She handed it to him.

“No no! It’s alright!” He took it and started digging around in the pockets. “Its um...oh… here…” He placed some wilted and nearly crushed, small daisies in front of her, on the table. “They were… well.. they were prettier when I picked them…”

She smiled softly. “That’ll happen when you put them in your pocket…” She giggled.

“Yeah…” He chuckled, looking down at his lap. 

They slipped into more uncomfortable silence, Stan staring out the window and scratching at the back of his head. Wendy sipped at her tea some more and sighed, “Hey remember when I pinned you to the ground and made you eat dirt?”

He looked up, flushing. “Wha-?! You never did that!” He said with a small smile.

She nodded. “I did so! We were eight, you vomited on my new shoes.”

He laughed. “Oh can you blame me? They were neon yellow.”

“Oh you, brat!” She laughed and smacked his arm as he barely flinched and laughed.

“Oh, God, I miss this…” He admitted, smiling. “Just hanging out with you. It sucks that we can't really do it anymore…”

Wendy tilted her head. “What do you mean…?”

“Well… We’re supposed to be getting married or whatever…. Everything's gonna be different….”

She frowned. “It doesn't have to be…”

He sighed. “Oh come on, Wendy… We’re hooked up because our families need us and since we both come from labor classes, they're gonna want a lot of kids…”

Wendy looked down at her tea. “We can still be friends though… I don't want to be miserable for the rest of my life…”

“Me either…”

She hummed. “The only way for this to seem less like a chore, and more like a decision is for us to just act like we used to, to hang out as friends and try to ignore the fact that neither of us really want this.”

“Oh, Wendy, I just-”

“Don't lie and tell me you want to get married.” She ordered.

“Yes ma'am.” He nodded. 

She nodded. “Good… So… I'm sorry about missing our lunch yesterday… I forgot and-”

“I forgot too… Actually…” He admitted sheepishly. “So it's okay…”

She smiled softly. “Maybe we can get lunch tomorrow?” She suggested.

He shook his head. “I'm gonna be busy on the ships all week.” He frowned softly. “Three in my dad’s crew got injured yesterday during a mermaid attack and I have to fill a spot until someone heals.”

Wendy gasped softly. “That's horrible… It must have been a pretty bad attack…” He nodded. “Who was hurt…?”

“Uh… My dad, that kid Clyde Donovan, I dunno if you remember him…”

She nodded. “I do… Briefly…”

He hummed. “And then Kenny, he's the worst out of all of them.”

Her blood ran cold at the mention of the poor blond. “... O-oh…? How bad…?”

Stan lifted a hand to his side, showing her where Kenny had been injured. “Gnarly bite right in here, he said my mom had to pull three teeth out of him.”

She bit her lip, starting to shake a little. “That's… That's horrible…” She reached for her tea.

“Yeah…” He watched her pick it up with shaky hands. “I didn't mean to gross you out or…”

“No no… I'm fine…” She took a sip and placed it down again. “That's a shame about your dad… Will you be leading the ships or-?”

He laughed and shook his head. “No… No my Uncle Jimbo is gonna do it. I’m… I'm not cut out for the leader position.”

She tilted her head. “Why’s that?”

“I don't exactly sail well with others.” He hummed and took a sip of his own tea that was probably lukewarm. 

“Well… What will happen when you're dad passes the company onto you?”

He shrugged. “I'll still own it, but I'll probably have someone like Kenny be in charge of the actual ships.”

She nodded and then smiled. “You could always work the fields? By that point I'm sure we’ll be married and won't have parents breathing down our necks about everything.”

He laughed and nodded. “Yeah no kidding!” He looked over at a grandfather clock. “I should go though… I'm needed to help load up a shipment for an island over.” He stood, putting his coat on. 

Wendy stood with him. “Well, try to have fun.” She smiled softly, escorting him to the large front door. 

He snorted. “Yeah, that's likely.” 

She giggled. “I'll see you around, Stan.”

He nodded and took her hand, kissing it. “Bye, Wendy…” He murmured, slipping back into the awkwardness of their situation. He left and she shut the door, leaning against it with a sigh.

Her father entered the room, looking at her with a hesitant look on his face. “Do you feel any more inclined to marry him yet…?” He asked softly.

She groaned and shook her head, storming upstairs to her room.

-

Wendy was curled up in her bed, holding her knees. It was late at night and she was lonely. She knew he wouldn't show up like he usually did, and she hated knowing that. Of course it was better than expecting him to show and being disappointed. She bit her lip. He’d show up with that crooked grin and those chipped teeth. He’d crack a few jokes to cheer her up and then hold her and cradle her as she cried about the marriage. He'd suggest they run away together, steal a boat and just get the hell out of there. Then he'd kiss her wet lips and take her away to a happier place. A place where it was only the two of them and they would live and breathe and be happy.

“Kenny…” She whimpered, tears leaking out. She’d been so angry at him for not coming to her rescue, like he was supposed to, the previous night, but now she understood that he was too injured to. She frowned. Well. If he couldn't come to her, she'd go to him.

She sat up and started getting dressed, it was ten after midnight and her parents were dead asleep. She tugged on her gloves and fleece jacket, pulling her hat on as well. She opened her window and looked out at the tree he climbed each time he visited. She carefully made her way out of the window and across the thick branch before climbing down. She started jogging across the dead grass to get to his house quickly and to keep warm. The wind wrapped around her and made her hair flair and go in different directions. 

It seemed like a long walk and she was shaking and shivering by the time she got there. She went around back, and looked inside one of the window’s seeing Kenny’s sleeping form. She smiled softly at how peaceful he looked. She knocked on the glass quietly, and then a little louder. 

He roused and opened his eyes, looking up and then widening them in fright before realizing it was Wendy. He sat up with a sigh and rubbed his eyes, opening the window. “Wendy…? What… What are you doing here…?”

“C-c-can I c-come in…?” Her teeth chattered.

His eyes widened and he nodded. “Yeah… Yeah come on before you freeze!” He ushered her inside, closing the window as she hugged herself, sitting on his bed, beside him. He immediately wrapped his muscular arms around her, trying to get her warm. “What the hell were you doing out there? It's almost the middle of winter!”

She let herself be enveloped by his heat. “I heard y-y-you got hurt-t…” She looked down at his bandaged chest. 

He blinked in surprise. “I-” she tucked her cold hands under the covers. He blushed hard. “I'm naked.” He warned her. She looked up at him with a straight face and forced her freezing hands onto his junk.

He gasped hard and let out a squeak, trying to jump away from her. “Fuck!” 

She laughed and pulled her hands away, grabbing the sides of his head and pulling him down to kiss her, muffling his squeal of protest. After he calmed down, she pulled away slowly, breathing against his lips. 

His eyes were half lidded as he gazed down at her, totally enraptured. “I love you,” he breathed.

“I love you too…” she whispered, her hand going to his abdomen and trailing up until she felt something wet. She looked down and saw he was bleeding through his bandage. “Kenny!” She exclaimed, knocking them out of their haze. 

He looked down. “Oh shit I forgot to change it before I went to bed…”

She groaned and reached across him to turn on his bedside lamp. “Helpless ...” She got up and went to the roll of gauze that was on his dresser. She went back and started taking the dirty ones off.

“Wendy, I can-”

“Shut the fuck up.” She started unwrapping it but he grabbed her wrist, looking up at her. 

“I don't want you to see it.” He frowned. “It's bad, you'll cry…”

She frowned right back. “I think I can handle a little bite.”

“It's not-!”

She took the bandage off and stared at the wound. It was bright red but the actual marks were a sickly yellow that were oozing pus and blood. She only let her gaze linger for a moment before cleaning it and rewrapping it. She sat next to him, arms moving around him as she finished fixing him. Her hands moved to his chest, staring down.

His own hands drifted to her waist, his head leaning down and nudging her face up with his nose, making her look at him. They breathed against each other for a moment before slowly kissing. She gasped softly, tilting her head and closing her eyes. She loved him so much…

“It's not fair…” she murmured against him. 

He nodded and moved his lips to her neck. “I know, baby…” 

She sighed, a hand digging into his hair. “I love you…”

“I love you too…” One of his hands started drifting down, resting on her thigh before moving up and grazing her pelvis.

“Kenny… No…” 

“Come on… We love each other…”

“I-I'm not ready…” She pushed his hand away.

He sighed and pulled away, looking down at her. “Sorry…”

She shook her head. “It's okay… I just…”

He nodded. “I know…” He frowned and laid down. “I can't believe Stan missed the lunch.”

She sighed and laid next to him. “I forgot too.”

“I would never forget you…” He said bitterly.

She sighed. “Ken…”

“I could be so much more than him, Wendy…!” He sat up and propped himself up on his elbow, laying on his side. “You know I could!”

She nodded. “I know it's hard for you… He's your best friend…”

He humphed and nodded. “Just because he's some golden rich boy…”

She kissed his cheek. “You're so much more…”

He looked down and grinned crookedly. “Well… You could see how much more I am…” He winked.

She scoffed and shoved him a little. “Hurr hurr!” He laid back down and held her, still naked but she didn't mind.

He kissed her cheek. “One day… I'm gonna get us out of here… we’ll get a boat and sail away. We’ll build our own home and have so many kids…” He rubbed her stomach. “And I'll make love to you every night for the rest of our lives. Even when we’re old and wrinkly and are cumming a second into it. I will always show you how much I love you. Forever.”

She smiled, happy to be taken away into their fantasy. For the next moments she let her reality slip away. Actually believing him, and not reminding herself that it could never come true.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I'm writing some fanfiction for NaNoWriMo so it might be two months until I post here again. If you're interested, it's Stardew Valley fanfiction and it won't be posted until the end of November.

Bebe was gone. Craig’s eyes opened into a glare and stared at the empty nest. He sat up slowly, ignoring the pain in his chest, and swam to the entrance of their cave, peering out. He had been told to rest in for another day, but he was already feeling sluggish. He slipped out and made his way to the open water just before the entrance to the labyrinth of caves. He swam a little out of the way above the caves, set on going to his favorite training area.

The shine of the sun through the water was dim, but illuminating. It hit the top of the caves just right. It was flat, surrounded by seagrass and sponge, making it the perfect place to practice battling. The folk had stopped using it long before Craig had been born but he still liked to come here and practice in peace.

“Gah!”

At least he could usually. He looked to the right, a little bit past the sponge mat where training mer-people used to wrestle, and saw a young boy trying to move or even shift a boulder. He had his back against it, arms braced behind him as his tail thrashed wildly and quickly as if he might be able to use the force to move it. 

Craig recognized the blue polkadotted tail and the black hair instantly. “You’re never going to move it like that, Ike.”

The young Broflovski stopped, looking over with a startled expression. “O-oh… Hi, Craig…” He held himself close together as he straightened up, floating away from the boulder. “I was just… uh…. I mean I know you like to train here… N-not like I’ve been watching you! But! Everyone knows it… I just thought that ‘cause you’re hurt and stuff… and yeah.. I-I’ll just…” He started swimming away but Craig spoke deeply.

“You’re not really built for boulder breeching.”

Ike paused, looking over his shoulder. “I… Huh?”

Craig swam across the training area and grabbed a few rocks that were lying around. “You’re skinny and not all that muscular.” He said bluntly. “You’re small and destined to have a tiny body. You're not a boulder breecher.”

The boy deflated a little. “Oh… Right… No you’re right yeah…”

“You’ve got more of a defender body type.” He amended, dropping the medium sized rocks he’d collected on one side of the sponge mat. “Quick, and lithe.” He looked over at the slightly surprised Ike with an expressionless face. “You just need to build up your muscle for combat.” He pointed to the pile of rocks. “Carry these, one at a time, and place them on the other side of the mat in a line.”

Ike’s eyes widened. “Wh-Wha-?”

“You want to be a defender don’t you?” Craig snapped. Ike nodded quickly, keeping his mouth shut. “Then do as I say.” When he didn’t move, Craig used his commanding voice. “/Now/.”

The mer-boy jolted and swam over quickly, picking up one of the rocks, a little surprised at how heavy it was. He slowly swam to the other side, placed it down and swam back, picking up another, and repeating. It was a slow process, but eventually he did it, very conscious of Craig watching him the entire time. 

“Good.” Craig nodded, the winded Ike puffing his chest up a little as his gills gasped. “If you’re planning on carrying bowls of kelp to and from the farms for the rest of your life.” Ike deflated again. “Do it again,” Craig said. “Faster this time.”

“Faster…?” Ike’s bright blue eyes widened. “But I-!”

“Did I stutter?”

The boy shut his mouth and bit his lip, swimming back over and trying to go faster. Craig sat on a small boulder, watching the son of their leader take the starting strokes of becoming a strong defender.

-

“Craig Tucker, where have you been?” His mother’s shrill voice seemed to rip through the ocean as he helped Ike swim home after their day of intense training.

“It gets harder.” Craig had told him. “The training gets longer and harder every day and you have to keep it up. It’s not a slacking kind of lifestyle. There are plenty of gatherers and farmers who had the potential to have the pride of protecting us but they couldn’t keep up.”

“Kyle said he tried.” Ike responded. “He tried real hard but he didn’t make the cut…”

“That’s because Kyle is one of the few where his body couldn't keep up with his ambitions.” He explained. “I watched him train. Even tried to help him at times. We’d spend days after dark practicing. His body just couldn't handle it.”

“I specifically told you to stay in bed!” Laura’s scolding continued. “How can I do daily check ups if I can’t find you!” She noticed the exhausted Ike leaning on his, arm over his healing shoulders. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Training.” Craig said. 

Laura shot him a narrow eyed glare. “Training?”

“Yeah.” 

She sighed. “Are you taking him home?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you intend to keep training him while you’re healing?”

“Probably.”

“Then, for Poseidon's sake take your sister with you? She’s been itching for you to teach her for months now.” The blonde placed her hands on the top of her pale green tail.

“Yeah, okay.” Craig agreed, starting to swim past her. “I’ll be over for a check up.”

“Well, don’t strain yourself.” She groaned and swam away.

After a moment of silence Ike spoke up. “You’re… You want to keep training me?”

Craig felt Ike’s head turn to look at him but he didn’t look back. “Just enough to get you started. And if I get Ruby started on the same regimen then you guys will have each other to work out with. She’s going to become a siren, there’s no doubt but she still needs muscle and speed.”

Ike nodded slowly. “Yeah… Yeah, that makes sense…” He smiled softly. “Thank you…” Craig didn’t respond.

-

“Oh, Ike! There you are.” Gerald said as Craig led the boy into the cave. “And… Craig?” He swam over when he saw how exhausted Ike was. “I...uh…”

“We were training, dad!” Ike said excitedly although he could hardly move. 

“Where should I put him?” Craig asked.

“Oh! Oh that’s alright, I’ll take him from here.” Gerald grabbed Ike’s other arm and slung it over his shoulder as he moved away a little bit. “Thank you for your interest in his training.” Gerald said with a small smile. “Sheila’s been meaning to but there’s been so much to do lately, and she got called out today because of a shark warning.”

“I’m just getting him started.” Craig explained. “I’m bringing Ruby with me tomorrow so that they can rely on each other once I’m finished healing.”

“Ah, I see.” Gerald nodded. 

“I know Sheila’s got a lot in her bowl right now, since she postponed picking new recruits.” Craig said dully.

“Yeah... “ Gerald sighed. “She actually went in to visit you today. Wanted to talk about something or another. Would you like to wait for her to come back?”

“That’s alright. My mother is demanding I come by for a check up. You know how she is about her patients.” He shrugged earning an instant ‘hah’ of agreement from Gerald. “I’ll keep an eye out for her. Have a good day.” He turned to swim out.

“Is Kyle home yet?” Ike asked, probably eager to tell him about his day.

“No, but we finished early today…” Gerald hummed. “I’m not sure why he’s not home yet.”

Craig exited without another word on the matter. The farms were dying. Anyone could see that. The farmers were finishing early in an attempt to let the crops survive a while longer. It was the muck that those humans kept dumping into the ocean every day. That, and they had to eat more of the crops because there was less fish. Humans. Craig grimaced at the thought of them. They were nothing but pure evil. Attacking and destroying what other species needed to survive. Sure, mer-folk ate fish, but that didn't mean they were constantly stuffing their faces. They left enough for the other creatures of the sea.

His tail always tingled when he thought about humans. When he was young and freshly recruited, he’d been a part of an attack on a fisherman’s ship. He hadn’t been allowed to fight yet, he was more of a back up and a replacement. An older merman had been hurt and Craig had been trying to carry him back when a human dived into the water. He was insane but he tried to finish off the merman in Craig’s arms. He had tried to swim away but the human had grabbed Craig’s tail, and he assumed he’d been about to cut it off but he didn’t get that far. Sheila, fast as lightning, had tackled him and took him down quickly, biting his neck. But not before he had taken a chunk out of Craig’s tail, leaving a large nick as his legacy. 

A tail is the most delicate part on a merperson. And it had been a miracle that Craig hadn’t died from just that.

“I can’t believe you sorry excuses!” An annoying voice rang out. Craig looked over didn’t feel any surprised at seeing Eric Cartman ordering younger merfolk around. “You didn’t manage to catch a single fish?”

“It's just…” A young girl said softly. “It’s pretty common…We’re only trainees after all…”

“Hah! Like that makes a bit of difference! You’re lucky we don’t leave you out for sharks to come and eat you! Then there’d be plenty of food!”

“A voice that tries to strike a specific fear into a crowd, fears their words the most.” Craig raised his voice, causing Cartman to look over with a frightened look. There was no doubt that he had been saying that stuff because he thought he could get away with it. “Do you think your performance as a team-member is so poor that we’re going to alienate you, Cartman?” Craig asked as he swam over. Wisely, the brunette stayed quiet under Craig’s gaze. He looked at the merfolk who were a few years younger than himself. “How long did you all fish for?”

“Since before the ocean turned blue…” One said, still disheartened. 

“So all day? No breaks?” They shook their heads. “Then you have nothing to be ashamed of. You tried for your people. And there’s nothing wrong with that.” They straightened up a little, a few of them shooting him a bashful smile. “Go on then. Get some rest. Try again tomorrow.” They nodded and swam away, leaving Cartman with Craig. There was a deep silence between them for a moment, the both of them knowing that Craig was ranked higher than Cartman. “If I find you trying to intimidate those who cannot defend themselves again,” Craig warned silently. “I will personally feed you to the sharks.” The brunette said nothing, just gave silent acceptance. Craig didn’t blink as he turned and kept swimming to his mother’s.

-

After the check up, Craig went home and found that Sheila was waiting for him. He swam up and bowed his head politely. She was one of the few that he had a shred of pure respect for. She was incredibly fit, long red hair cascading around her muscular frame. Her tail was green polkadotted, almost exactly like Kyle’s. 

She smiled softly. “How are your wounds?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Better. I’m still going to be out another two days.”

“I’m sure it’ll be less.” She hummed. “Gerald told me how you were helping Ike today. I really appreciate that and so does he.” She laughed softly. “He won’t stop talking about it.”

“He’s eager to learn.” He nodded. “He just needed a little push to get him started.”

She nodded as well. “Yes, he did… I also heard about how you defended the younger fisher squad against Eric.” Her brow raised. “That was extremely kind of you.” He simply shrugged. “You have a talent for inspiring others and keeping control of situations.” She went on. “I need folk like that in my higher command.”

His eyes widened slightly. “But I haven’t even been a defender for two years.”

“I’m aware. But Ned is too old and battle scarred to continue come this next winter. That leaves a space in my command open.”

“Sheila, I appreciate the compliment, but surely there are older ones who would be more qualified than me.” 

“Like who? Garrison?” She scoffed. “I want you by my side during recruitments this year. If you decide that it’s not your scene, then so be it. I won’t force you. But don’t skip an opportunity to push yourself harder.” Her sharp gaze eased up and she smirked. “On a lighter note.” Her voice seemed to ring. “I’ve seen some interesting marks on Bebe~” Craig felt his ears start to burn. “And more than usual too. Thinking of gup-?”

“No.” He answered quickly. “Just been stressed.”

She pouted her lips a little. “Parenthood isn’t as scary as they say, you know.”

“I know.” He nodded. “We’re just. Waiting.”

Sheila hummed. “Stop stressing and just let it happen.” She said calmly. “You’ll make a wonderful father.”

An older merman swam up, his vomit-green tail moving quickly. “Sheila!” He said. “I need to talk to you. It’s about the clams.”

“Right.” She nodded, teasing voice gone. “I’ll be right over, Steven. Nice talking to you, Craig. Get well soon.” And with that, they swam off, leaving Craig to sigh.

It’s not that he didn’t want guppies. He did. But not in the middle of a war. Not when it was too dangerous to even go out swimming alone. No. He couldn’t consciously bring another life into the world when the food was running out, when the water was becoming poisonous. It’d just bring heartbreak to himself and Bebe if it died. He’d wait.

Out of the corner of his eye, Craig saw a flash of red and green leave the caves. At first glance, he assumed it was Sheila, but the he remembered that he had already seen her leave before. Curious, he swam towards where the mer had left and saw Kyle trying to slip away, acting very suspicious. He remembered what Gerald had said earlier, about how Kyle was supposed to be home. He frowned and started to follow him but was stopped short by Butters popping up in front of him.

“Hiya, Craig!” He greeted, a smile on his face. “Whatcha doin’?”

“I uh.” He looked past him and saw Kyle disappear. “Going for a swim, I’m bored.” He tried to move around him but Butters just got in his way again. 

“Nuh-uh, mister! Your mother gave us healers strict orders to not let you out of the eyesight of the cave.”

Craig frowned at him. “I can’t go out for five moments?”

“Nope.”

He sighed and gave up. “Fine. I’ll just go home and sleep off my boredom.”

“That’s the spirit!” Butters chirped, starting to follow him as he turned to swim back. “Need any help?” He asked, a soft vulnerability in his tone.

“No.”

“Awe, gee, I didn’t make ya sore at me, did I?” He rubbed his fists together nervously. 

“No, Butters, I’m just. Cranky.”

“Ya sure?”

“Positive.”

“Anything I can getcha?”

Craig paused and thought, trying not to hurt the blond’s feelings. “Can you find me something that I can pick at my teeth with? I think there's something stuck in them.”

He perked right up. “Sure thing! I’ll meet you by your cave!” He flipped and swam away quickly.

Craig continued to his cave, going inside and laying in the nest. He’d be blind if he couldn’t see the attraction Butters had for him. Or that half of the folk his age had. He didn’t care. It didn’t bother him. When he and Bebe had first started courting each other he had to convince her that he felt nothing for any of them. He always had his heart set on her. 

He curled up in the nest a little, frowning to himself. He missed Bebe.

-

Bebe slept soundly, curled up with her back against Craig’s chest. His nose was nuzzled into her hair, loving how it tickled his face. He had two things on his mind. Humans and guppies. Why she thought some humans were good irked him, but not as much as the baby talk had. She tried to convince him to start trying. It seemed like all anybody could talk about. Maybe he should prepare… In case in the throes of passion they decided to fertilize. They’d need another nest to keep the eggs. He was sure it would take a couple of tries before one managed to survive. 

The nest didn’t need to be huge. He knew that it only needed to be about five large clams wide to hold three fist-sized eggs at a time. He’d seen Token preparing an egg nest a couple weeks ago and he knew it would only be a matter of time before he and Nichole managed to successfully fertilize.

It was a watching and waiting game. Fertilize, watch for movement, if there was nothing after three days, toss them out, try again. He’d seen plenty of mates throw away dead eggs and the thought made him sick. He didn’t know if he would be able to throw something like that away. But he didn’t want to be unprepared either. 

He quietly got up and swam outside to pick up a sturdy rock and swam back inside. He measured it out and started scratching at the floor about a foot away from their nest, a little closer to the back wall of their cave. He bit his lip, seeing the marks begin to appear on the floor. His heart started to pick up. He was making it a possibility with this and it was freaking him out. 

Eventually his scrapping had woken Bebe and she moaned softly, sitting up and rubbing at her eyes. “Craig…?” She asked, blinking her eyes a couple times. “What’s going on? What are you doing? Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Couldn’t.” He shook his head. “Too restless.” He kept at his scratching.

Bebe stared at him a while longer and became conscious of what he was doing. “What…. What are you doing..?” She asked in an awed voice, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

He kept scratching. “I just want to be prepared… in case we…” He let his voice died off at the end when he heard her breath hitch. 

“Oh… Craig…” She smiled and reached a hand out, placing it over the one that held the rock and making him stop for a second. He looked up, showing his nervous and anxious eyes. “Just because everyone is encouraging us… Doesn't mean that we-”

“I know.” He nodded, clearing his throat. “I just. Want to be prepared.” He tried to take his hand back but she kept a grip on it. 

“We have plenty of time to make the nest…” She said quietly. “Come back to bed. Please?” 

He hesitated a little but nodded, dropping the rock on the scratches and swam back, moving to her open arms and letting her cuddle him. She hummed softly into his hair. His gills heaved with a deep breath and he closed his eyes.


	7. Chapter 6

“That’s the last one.” Stuart clapped Stan on the back as he placed a large crate down on the transport ship. “Good work today, kid.” He told him.

Stan just grunted, massaging at his shoulders. After he had cleared things up with the Testaburger family earlier that day he had to get to work. “Seems like there’s less lately.” He commented as he and Stuart walked off the ship and towards the clock in hut.

“Yyyah.” Stuart drawled, a habbit that Stan noticed Kenny had picked up. “Damn sea devils keep fuckin’ up our fishin’ trips.” He lifted his signature cap and wiped at his forehead before putting it back on.

“Yeah…” Stan hummed.

“Heard you’d be joinin’ us this week. That right?” He asked.

“Yeah.” He said again, nodding. “At least thats when my mom says Clyde will be better. Aparently he wasn’t hurt that bad.”

Stuart laughed. “From the way he was wailing you would’ve thought they cut off his damn arm!” Stan smirked as they walked inside of the hut, grabbing their time cards and punching out before promptly placing them back. Don’t loose your fucking time cards, kids. “What did she say about Kenny?” He asked hesitantly. “I wasn’t around when she treated him…” 

Stan could see he had been itching to ask all day just from the look on his face. “Uh…” The 19 year old cleared his throat. “She didn’t say…. Just that it was a nasty bite and that it needs to be watched after very closely…”

Stuart just hummed as they took off their smelly work jackets and hung them up. “I hope nothin’ happens to my kid…” 

Stan could only offer silent sympathy for lack of what to say. A couple years ago, Stuart and Carol’s oldest son, Kevin, had been knocked overboard during an attack. His body had washed up about a week later, deep bite marks all over his body. The McCormicks had wanted to bury him next to his grand father and have an open cascet funeral but the local scientists somehow convinced the family to let them study his body to see if they could learn anything about the merpeople. By the time they were done, his body was even more unrecogizable and the family had a private funeral. 

They walked out and suddenly Stuart was cheerful again. “Say, a few of us are goin’ over to Skeeter’s Bar for a hot meal, you wanna come? You’re about old enough to drink aren’t cha?”

“Not yet.” Not that anyone would oppose if he just showed up and ordered a beer. “But I can’t right now, my mom has me running errands. I might pop in later though.” Stan shrugged.

“Ah.” He nodded and patted his bicep. “Well if you miss me at the bar, I’ll see you bright and early in the mornin’.” He walked towards his beaten pick up truck. “Tell your old man to hurry and get better!”

“I will!” Stan called as he watched him drive away. He wouldn’t. He didn’t realize how parents expected their children to pass along messages like that. He popped the collar on his jacket as he walked along the road, trying to ignore the wind. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t just borrowed his dad’s truck today, he sure as hell couldn’t use it and the weather was awful. Gray gloomy skies and a forceful wind. 

He just ignored it until he got to his family’s fish shop that was being manned by Sharon and Shelly. “Thank you, come again!” His sister called as Mr. Mackey passed Stan. He almost tried to start conversation but Stan just slipped by him. 

“Hi, mom.” 

“How was work?” She asked, restocking some of the shelves. 

“Fine.” He mumbled, trying to make room for he cart as she wheeled it through the tiny and cluttered shelves. “Stuart invited me to drink with him and the guys.”

She snorted. “Oh did he?”

“Yeah, it was really weird.” He ducked as he passed a hanging light.

“That whole family is weird.” Shelly hummed from behind the counter, flipping through a baby book. 

Sharon frowned at her. “They’re victims of unfortunate circumstances in life. You can’t expect them all to turn out to be perfect, happy people.”

“Whatever.”

His mother sighed. “Stan, please move? I can’t get the cart through.”

He looked around. “I’m stuck.”

She sighed irritatingly. “Stan…”

“What? I can’t move without knocking shit over, don’t get angry at me!”

She groaned and backed the cart up. “Whatever! Just! Why are you here?” SHe snapped.

He furrowed his brows at her. “You said you had errands for me.”

“When did I say that?”

“You called me during work!”

She looked at him like he was crazy and then she groaned and covered her forehead. “Shit, that’s right I did… I needed you to take something over to the Tweaks.” She started walking towards the back room and Stan followed her. She shuffled around in the cubbards before she pulled out a small plastic baggy with three fangs in them.

Stan narrowed his eyes a little. “What are those?”

“Mermaid teeth.” She said. “Careful, they can peirce through the plastic.” She warned as she handed them over. Stan took them and looked at them closer. He didn’t know why he hadn’t recognized them at first. Maybe he needed glasses or something.

“Why do the Tweaks want them? They have tons of teeth just like these.”

Sharon sighed and leaned against the counter. “Some bullshit about even the tiniest difference could be a breakthrough in their research… I don’t know and I don’t care.” She looked exhausted, a little sick too.

“Are you okay?” He asked, changing the topic.

“I think I caught Karen’s cold when I was taking care of her and Kenny yesterday.” She waved a hand. “Whatever, it’ll pass.”

“Maybe you should go home?”

“And listen to your father complain and leave your pregnant sister here to man the store on her own? I don’t think so. Besides it’s just a bug. Go on and deliver that.” SHe pointed to the door. 

“Yeah, okay.” He hummed. “I’m going on a run later tonight, so I’m gonna miss dinner.”

“You usually do.” SHe sighed. “Get.” She shooed him and he walked out the door, careful of the sharp objects in his coat pocket.

Stan walked down the street and saw the weather get a little worse. He furrowed his brows. If the winds were too harsh then he wouldn’t be able to sail out and see Kyle. He walked up to the Tweaks’s large residence, their front porch was in desperate need of repainting, and it had rags and towels laying out all over it attempting to dry. 

He walked up, hesitant not to touch anything, and knocked on the front door. They didn’t immediately answer, but when they did a smell of chemicals and coffee. Stan’s eyebrow tried not to raise an eyebrow at Richard Tweak, smiling with a mug of coffee in his hand. 

“Ah Stan!” He greeted. “How nice to see you! Jane! Stan is here!”

Mrs. Tweak seemed to matiralize next to him. “Oh!” SHe cooed. “Hi, Stan! Would you like to come in for a beverage?”

“I… No thank you…” Had he been at any other person’s house he wouldv’e said yes; he’d been walking all day. However, his parents had always warned him not to accept any thing from the family, despite how polite they were. 

“Well come in for a bit at least, son, you look frigid!” Richard grabbed his arm and tried to pull him inside. 

“Ah, thats okay.” He took a step back, reaching a hand into his coat pocket. “I’m jst gonna drop these- Ow!” He yanked his hand out of his pocket, seeing that his palm was bleeding. “What the…?”

“Oh my!” Jane exclaimed. “Come on inside, I’ll get some bandaids and disinfectant.” She grabbed his coat and tugged him inside before he could protest. “Richard, dear, take him to the kitchen please.” SHe said before walking up a flight of stairs. 

“Right of course! Come on, then.” Mr. Tweak encouraged, walking into a seperate room. 

Stan didn’t want to take one step further inside the horror house. It was too bright. The colors on the wall looked like they had been painted various shades of neon about ten years ago and hadn’t been washed since. There were coffee mugs everywhere along with dangerous looking liquids inside of them. The family pictures that hung on the walls seemed to be covered in cobwebs and dust. The entire house seemed to be covered in equipment and traces of merpeople.

He wanted to just open the door and book it, but he knew he had to give them the teeth so he bulked up his courage and slowly walked into the room Richard had, observing everything. When he walked into the kitchen, the counters were covered in bits of skin and test tubes and teeth and scales. He gulped and sat down in a chair. 

Richard approached him with somg tongs and Stan’s eyes widened. “Wh-What’s that for…?”

“To get the teeth out of your pocket.” He laughed as he reached inside of Stan’s pocket with them. “I don’t want to hurt myself too.” He explained, extracting them.

Stan eased and nodded. “Yeah…” After a long and awkward silence he spoke up again. “Is- uh- Tweek home?” Stan didn’t nessesarily think of Tweek as a friend, but it made dealing with his way too calm parents a lot easier.

“Oh, we actually moved Tweek out about a month ago.” 

“You what?” Stan asked surprised. He’d always been under the impression that they treasured their son like he was a peice of scientific equipment. “Isn’t that a bad idea, concidering his…. Condition?”

“Oh it’s alright.” He waved. “He doesn’t leave his place very much and it’s easier for him to control himself when he isn’t worried about breaking his own things.”

“Right…” Stan murmured as Jane walked back in. 

“Sorry that took so long!” She shirped. “The first aid kit was hiding under that mermaid tail we lost.” She laughed.

The 19 year old stayed shockingly quiet as Richard laughed. “So that’s what we did with that thing! I thought it had evaporated during our test with the-”

“I need to go.” Stan stood quickly, stomach threatening to turn on him.

The Tweaks blinked rapidly. “But your hand?”

“Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”

Stan was already making for the door. “Bye, thank you.” He rushed out, unable to help the sprint as he burst out the front door. The Tweaks were fucking insane. Everyone knew that. When he was younger he and Kenny would try and sneak into the house when no one was home and check it out. When they finally managed to get inside, they had sworn to never go near it again. His second visit to the house had been much more terrifying than his first “visit” when he was ten.

Stan decided to take Stuart up on his offer.

Shivering and shaking, Stan opened the door to Skeeter’s bar, wiping his feet before moving towards the bar. “Well, heya, Stan!” A familiar nasally voice came. Said boy looked up and saw his Uncle Jimbo sitting at the bar, Skeeter across from him and an abandoned seat with an empty plate.

Without anything better to do, and having no excuse for ignoring him, Stan made his way over. “Hey, Jimbo.” 

“What’re you doin’ in here kid?” His uncle asked.

“Stuart said he and a couple of guys were having a drink here and he invited me.”

“‘Fraid you just missed ‘im.” Skeeter spoke up, motioning to the empty plate. “Didn’ stay as long as usual. Pretty odd iffya ask me.”

Jimbo just waved a hand. “He’s just worried ‘bout his kid Kenny. Poor bastard got attacked by that phsyco merman you almost took down a few years back.”

Skeeter smirked. “Seems I aint the only one who’s got beef with him anymore then.”

Stan looked between the both of them, blinking slowly. “What…. Happened….?”

The men exchanged a look before Jimbo tugged Stan into Stuart’s empty seat. “Sit down, an’ get something ta eat. You look frozen.”

Skeeter grabbed the plate and dumped it in the sink. “Red!” He yelled for his daughter, the heavy make-up wearing girl poked her head out. 

“What.”

“Fix Stan up a burger will ya?” He ordered. “Make it nice and hot for ‘im.”

THe redheaded girl blinked and then smirked at Stan. “No problem.” She winked when her father turned away, causing Stan to shiver from disgust. 

“Jesus, get him a beer too.” Jimbo told the bartender in front of them. “He’s freezing, the alcohol will help him.” He turned to Stan. “Don’t tell your mother I did this.”

Stan just blinked. “Dad lets me drink when she’s not around, it won’t be a new secret.”

Jimbo just laughed and clapped his back with his hand. “Atta boy.” 

Skeeter placed a beer in front of Stan. “Drink up.”

The boy with the red poofball hat complied, taking a good two gulps easily. “So Skeeter, tell him about how you nearly died.”

“Right!” He nodded and lifted up his shirt to reveal a deep scar that had three main entry points, but looked like it was dragged upwards. 

Stan’s eyes widened and his stomach churned again. “Jesus,” He breathed and slowly put his glass down as he looked at it. “What… what in the hell happened…?”

“Got that from those sharp three headed spears they carve,” The bartender explained. “But it takes more ‘n that to kill me!” He laughed heartily and put his shirt back down. 

Red came back out with a warm meal, smiling as she placed it in front of Stan, her cat-like eyes glittering at him. He cleared his throat. “Uh… thanks…”

“Ain’t a thing.” She winked and watched him take the first bite. 

“Yeah!” Jimbo’s booming voice broke the silence once more. “Had a few close calls m’self! Managed to snatch an arm offa this one merman. Those damn Tweaks all but hissed at me until I gave it to them.”

Stan swallowed. “I just got back from delivering some teeth from them… I got the hell out of there as fast as I could.”

“And good on you!” Skeeter praised. “Those people are freaks, if you know what’s good for yourself you’ll stay as far away from them as you can.”


End file.
